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Tag Archives: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Giving antibiotics to food animals is a hotly debated topic. I’ve spent a fair share of time giving vaccinations and doctoring sick calves on our ranch and others. I would like to tell you first hand that people producing animals for food are not just administering drugs to animals all willy-nilly! Food animal production is a careful science and to many farming families it is their income and purpose in life. Raising animals is often a rewarding experience and lifestyle but it is also hard work and it takes a special breed of person to do it!

The FDA and other regulatory bodies regulate the types and amounts of drugs that can be administered to animals. There are even more stringent regulations and withdrawal periods for livestock raised for meat and milk production.

Treating sick animals is expensive! No rancher wants a calf to get sick because it directly effects their productivity and bottom line. Ranchers also have compassion and don’t want the animal to suffer. When an animal is sick it is not gaining weight and developing like its contemporary group. Just like humans, when animal disease and sickness is not treated, it spreads. The vaccinations given to animals throughout their lives are to help them, not harm them.

Generally, calves raised in the beef industry are treated with antibiotics when they get sick. The antibiotics and other medications have specific withdrawal times. See the Beef Magazine article below for more information about withdrawal times. An animal cannot be harvested until the applicable withdrawal time has passed. The FDA and USDA have done many studies on withdrawal times and the length of time antibiotics stay in the animal’s system. They also consistently do testing in harvest facilities to make sure producers are following the rules and keeping our food safe.

My main point is that it is good to know where your food comes from and monitor it’s safety, but stay informed and don’t believe the scare tactics put forth by activists groups. The American food system is safe and highly regulated. Farmers and ranchers struggle every day to meet the strictest regulations and put a safe product in your grocery store. Be thankful you have high quality, safe food!

“According to the CDC, the most urgent threats are posed by antibiotic-resistant infections that have emerged in hospitals, as a result of heavy antibiotic use there.”